


Beyond the Words of the Lady of Blades

by zahhisio



Series: That Which Lies Beyond Words [3]
Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: Comrades in Arms, F/M, Friendship, Swordfighting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:48:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23184286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zahhisio/pseuds/zahhisio
Summary: Her prophecy fulfilled in an explosive fight, Mia takes the opportunity to have a heart-to-heart chat with the Summoner.
Series: That Which Lies Beyond Words [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1591894
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	Beyond the Words of the Lady of Blades

**Author's Note:**

> Heya, Boss! It must be my lucky day to run into you right now. No way you're getting out of a spar this time!  
> I won't take no for an answer! I'll teach you how to hold a sword, and you teach me about tactics and stuff.  
> I've been keeping an eye on you ever since you defeated me with those tactics of yours.  
> I want to become stronger myself, but I also want an archrival that will grow with me. You know?  
> We would train to defeat each other in combat, and through victory and defeat become all the more bonded.  
> And then comes the final, decisive battle! Isn't that just the most exciting thing you can imagine?  
> I knew you'd agree, Boss! So let's get started! Don't worry, I'll go easy on you... For now!

Dawn breaks through the gloomy overcast sky, illuminating the patches of grass that cover the field. Birds cawed as they perched by a lonesome tree’s branch, serving as silent witnesses to the battle that was about to unfold.

Two figures stood apart, each of them staring at the other with a smirk on their faces and a sword on their dominant hands. Their free hands open and close in anticipation.

Both of them raised their swords as if on cue. The girl held hers with both hands holding the grip tightly, pointing it towards her opponent who held his with only one hand and its edge facing at her instead. Her pose showed no gaps for weaknesses, while his stance stood deceptively relaxed.

“Are you ready, Boss?!”

“I’m not just ready…  _ I’m motivated. _ ”

“Now that’s what I like to hear!”

A hush follows.

One second. Two seconds. Three seconds were spent in total silence.

The duel began.

With his leading food in the front, Leorus slightly ducked as he anticipated a quick and broad slash. He sneered at the surprised Mia from the underside and launched an upward stab that only grazed her temple.

But Mia had sidestepped and saved herself from the attack’s full brunt. The reckless attack left Leorus in a vulnerable position, his footing unbalanced from the abrupt shift. Yet he pressed on recklessly, shuffling slowly towards Mia with his sword placed firmly in front of him despite his disadvantage. The swordswoman swept at him once more, only for her to hit air as he bent his back to avoid it.

It was a terrible decision, and one he would pay for dearly. 

The Summoner could not straighten back up and fell flat on the ground, kicking up dust as he grumbled at his foolishness. Mia sensed an opportunity and delivered an overhead swing that almost nicked Leorus’ body, if not for him rolling on the ground and sacrificing his summoner’s cloak. She chased him relentlessly as he got back on his feet, all the while not letting up the opportunity to attack from his blindside.

She could sense him wobbling and losing his grip on the ground over the excessive rolling, and struck him with a horizontal swing that left Leorus reeling. He winced from the instant jolt of pain and let himself get launched, able to roll and move with the impact to lessen its damage. He resolved not to make such a careless mistake - especially considering the bruise and cut it would leave on him.

In a moment, he was back on his feet again. A slight but sharp taste of iron came from a liquid running through his lips. He absentmindedly licked it as he cursed his own carelessness and charged at Mia again. She complied and put both of her hands on her sword’s grip, poised ready to launch a full-blown attack on the hapless Summoner.

But to her surprise, he suddenly skidded on the ground with his legs opened and clearly aiming for her feet.

His move was unexpected and left no room to react. With both of Leorus’ legs gripping hers like a vise, he twisted them to bring Mia falling down helplessly. The surprise loosened her grip on her training blade and it flew away, laying on the ground a few meters away.

all that she saw at first was the dawn’s light . Her right hand then scrambled and skimmed through the ground in a desperate search for her sword. Before she could obtain it, a cold sensation pressed from below her chin caused her muscles to freeze. She turned her head towards the sky again, only to find a smirking Leorus with his training blade stretching down and already resting below on her chin. 

She had lost.

Resigned to her defeat, Mia raised up her hands and allowed herself to be picked up by Leorus.

* * *

The infirmary was empty that day. Even its usual denizens, Wrys and Ethlyn, were nowhere to be found - the only thing filling that room was the medicinal scent lingering in the air and bursting out to greet Leorus and Mia as they opened the infirmary’s door Once they found the curatives they needed, they got to work and started applying ointments on their shallow wounds.

Leorus had wished that he had the chance to let his wounds only be bandaged instead, what with the way Askr’s ointments leave a burning sensation on them. However, Mia wouldn’t let that go unnoticed. She kept on yapping at him about properly dressing combat wounds. For a girl who claimed not to sweat the details, she was uncharacteristically concerned about his wounds - perhaps a statement of her years spent with her comrades in the Greil Mercenaries.

Even with bruises and a few cuts all over her skin, Mia was not any less enthusiastic than how she was before the fight started. She kept on humming happily as she put ointment on and wrapped them in bandages, occasionally wincing and hissing in an effort to resist the sting.

For a long time she pined for that day’s ‘destined duel’ - a result of Leorus’ white, flowing robes that made her mistake him for her great archrival. He never regretted entertaining her misplaced ambition for one second. For what it’s worth, Mia is an exceptional myrmidon, and having a rival did help a lot in furthering Leorus’ own swordsmanship.

He thought that she may deserve a token of gratitude after everything that led to that day, but that can wait.

After a few stretches that relieved the pain off his strained back, Leorus shouted. “Yo, Mia! Pass me the bandage- '' The words stopped coming out of his mouth when he failed to spot Mia on the bench she sat at. “Wait, where’d she go?” He pondered to himself. 

A few moments later, a voice came from behind him, surprising him with a foreign and soft sensation on the top of his head. “Here you go, Boss!” Leorus almost jumped out in surprise, caught unaware by Mia’s voice. He grumpily reached for and took a few sheets out of the roll of bandage that she had playfully placed on his head.

“Almost surprised me there,” he said in an annoyed tone, ignoring the fact that his words fell on Mia’s deaf ears. The swordswoman, fully aware of her own mischief, smirked and let herself sit on the wooden bench, putting herself right next to a stretching Leorus.

“Say, Boss,” she pointed at a slightly gaping wound on his arm. “Do you need any help with that?”

He gave her a brief shake of his head. “Not really, no. I’ll do this myself.” Failing to get the hint once again - or perhaps ignoring it outright - Mia dragged herself closer to Leorus, staring at him with bright, watery eyes as she tried to convince him. “Come on! Consider it the prize for winning: a treatment from me!” 

Her insistence was fueled by a kind of energy that would not deplete any soon, the Summoner reckoned. He did not have it in him to get into a petty argument - especially after the close match - and so, with a heavy heart, he resigned and took Mia’s offer.

“If you say so,” he wearily said. His left hand stopped bandaging his right arm. He stared back at Mia, who looked so enthusiastic while awaiting orders from him; he asked her once again with his head slightly tilted. “Are you fine with touching me?”

“I don’t sweat the details!” She beamed a bright smile.

He sighed. “...Should’ve seen that one coming.”

* * *

Contrary to the way she presented herself in the battlefield, Mia was gentle enough not to flare up the stinging pain from Leorus’ wounds again. She meticulously observed the gashes on his arm, making sure to cover it all in two or three wraps of the bandage. And whichever part of the wound had not had the ointment yet, she would quickly put it on, to the chagrin of the Summoner that held the urge to yelp every time the ointment made contact with his open flesh.

The fear that he had in his mind about Mia treating him was gone, replaced with satisfaction and bliss from the way she took care of him.

While moving onto the other arm, Mia began speaking with her eyes still glued to the covered wound. “You know, Boss, I’m grateful that you entertained my requests all this time. Turns out that old crone’s prophecy was true!”

“It helped me grow and refine my fighting style. Thank you for that too.”

Mia’s hands suddenly stopped. She stared at the confused Leorus, her eyes batting in disbelief, before breaking down in joy and pointing erratically at him. “See? See?!” Her yell was certainly audible from the outside of the infirmary, the Summoner reckoned. “Now that’s the bond I talked about long ago! Now we’re practically archrivals to each other, destined to toughen up through victories and defeats!”

He understood everything she said - after all, the topic of archrivals was practically the only subject she had around him. That, and the occasional request for tactics study that she asked from him.

Now that they reached her goal, what would she do from now on?

“And…?” Leorus raised an eyebrow, asking in a curious tone.

“And?”

His eyebrows wiggled as he tried to goad Mia into giving her answer. “Have you thought up an ending for this bond?”

“Ending?” Mia looked as if she was holding in the biggest guffaw of her life. Without warning she slapped Leorus’ shoulder, making him grimace once again. “Come on, Boss, what are you talking about?! Obviously I don’t want this to end!” She jumped out of her seat and kept pointing at him. “Did you know how hard it is for me to find the one true archrival that was like what the prophecy said?”

Though it might be but a declaration of her intention to rumble with him forevermore, Leorus was still nonetheless touched by Mia’s sentiment. He leaned just a tad bit closer to her, staring at her with raised eyebrows and a sly smile as he tried to tease her. “So, in a way, you want to stick with me for a little longer, hmm?”

Caught off-guard by the gesture, Mia blushed a teensy tiny bit and looked away, awkwardly scratching her cheek. “Yeah, maybe that too. I still need someone to study tactics from! Soren is too stingy,” she complained with a pout on her face. The flash of adorableness from the otherwise strong-looking swordswoman made Leorus let out a chuckle. He returned her pout with a soft and sincere smile, together with fluttering eyebrows.

“Understandable. Then, I’ll be staying with you too. But there’s one thing I need to ask from you…”

“Eh?” Mia tilted her head and crossed her arms. “Just name it.”

“I’m not really your boss, so stop calling me ‘Boss’, would ya?”

Silence fell over the room. Mia was left to process the meaning behind her boss’ request. When it got to her, she gaped and clutched her head in frustration, shouting at the top of her lungs. “Noooo! Just when I’d gotten comfortable with it…,” she lamented. After calming herself down she continued, a sigh escaping her mouth. “Fine, I guess, if you ask me to. Then I’ll just call you… Leorus! Yeah, that’s it!” 

Her troubles resolved, Mia started walking towards the infirmary’s exit. “By using each other’s name, we get to deepen our bond… and we can have another fight someday!” She sent herself off with a jovial wave behind the door frame. Leorus chased her as she walked away, a skip accompanying her every step. 

He had a feeling that he had not seen the last of the peppy myrmidon. Then again, after all that she did for him that day and vice versa, he would not mind that.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there! After a long hiatus (well, I did post stuffs on the Reddit writing thread instead...), I finally put up the third entry of this collection, featuring our resident swordswoman who never sweats the details, Mia!  
> Feel free to leave your opinion on this piece in the comments below!


End file.
